Skateboarding fashion has always been adopted by the
mainstream. Sometimes it takes years sometimes it
takes days, but over and over again skateboarders have
seen their wears pop up in malls. Over the past few
years it has become more apparent that the "cool"
hunters at large corporations have had their sights
set on skateboarders for what is next. Two of today's
most popular trends in alternative culture are the
chain wallet and cargo pants. It just so happens that
these two fashions can be linked to two pro
skateboarders, Matt Hensley and Mike Vallely.

Vallely Interview:

1. It seems that every other old picture has you
wearing cargos, I think Public Domain was the peek,
What year was that?

1988

2. Why did you always wear cargos?

I've always been attracted to the military look: short
hair cut, fatigues. It's a serious look and I'm a
serious guy. In school all the pretty boy jocks wore
jeans or parachute pants and my friends and I were
desperate for our own identity and chose to dress in
clothing we bought at an army surplus store. I've been
wearing "cargo" pants since 1984.

3. Now you can find cargos everywhere, did you have to
go to Army Surplus stores just to find a pair?

Yes, that was the only place you could buy those type
of pants for many years.

4. Did you have a hand in World putting out the Ghetto
Wear cargos?

It was my idea entirely. Ghetto Wear was originally
created to emulate my clothing style.

5. Did it ever cross your mind that you single
handedly created a national fashion?

Not really. I don't know that that is an entirely true
statement but I do feel weird walking around the mall
and seeing everyone selling and wearing cargo pants.
It's a turn off. That's why over the last 5 or 6 years
I've switched to wearing work pants instead. They're
trendy as hell too but not to the extent of cargos

Hensley questions:

1. When did you start wearing a chain wallet?

When I was thirteen or fourteen, 1983 or 1984.

2. Did you wear it at military school?

Hell No! I had to wear a military uniform everyday and
the school excepted nothing outside those strict
boundaries.

3. Didn't you have a graphic showing your chain
wallet, kind of like a trademark?

Yes, It was my first graphic when I turned pro. The
graphic was a portrait of me swinging on a street
sign, "Vista". The graphic made sense to me because
that's what I wore. I never thought that anybody would
give it second thought.

4. Do you still wear it today?

Yes I still wear the same wallet. I stopped wearing
one for about four years for the simple reason, that
every soul had one. So I stopped. Fact of the matter
is that everytime I went skating the damn thing was
getting lost without the chain, so I reinstated.

5. I had to go to a Harley Shop just to find a chain
wallet six years ago, now you can get them at K mart.
Do you realize that you are one of the reasons for
that?

There were other skaters that wore chain wallets much
before me. It wasn't until three years after my first
board that a few people told me that they got a chain
wallet because of mine. I never felt that I started
that trend in skateboarding, but I think I helped it
catch on.